Choosing Teams
by Makokam
Summary: The competitors often pair up. Usually for battles. Sometimes, it's for longer.


Valentine's Day in the Smash Mansion.

The funny thing about the holiday was that it was always more stressful for those who were already in a relationship. Valentine's Day, the ladies of the mansion waited to see which of the men would express interest in starting a relationship, or continuing one, with them.

Always an interesting time.

Two of the ladies, who in previous years had been the two most desired ladies in the house, sat at a table in the dinning hall, discussing who might approach them. Or more specifically, who they worried wouldn't.

"I honestly don't know why you're worried," Zelda said before sipping her tea, "You're in the longest running relationship of anyone here."

You see, at some point, the day had become as synonymous with break ups as new romance. Simply put, the residents of the mansion had gotten into the habit of starting, and ending, their romantic relationships on this day. So each

"I know," Peach said, nervously pulling at her gloves, "But there are more women here now than ever before. It's hard not to worry that some of the newcomers won't attract his attention."

"Well, don't forget that there are more men now as well," Zelda reminded as she glanced over the rim of her cup, "I'm sure you'll still have plenty of suitors."

"Well, that's fine for someone who isn't planning to continue her current relationship whether he wants to or not," Peach replied with a pointed look.

"I sincerely doubt he will," Zelda said as she put down her cup, "We've only been going through the motions for the last few months."

"I still don't understand why you haven't broken up already. What is the point?"

"To save face. If we simply go our separate ways today no one will think anything of it. If we'd done it, say, six months ago, it'd have been the talk of the mansion."

Peaches eyes went wide, "Has it really been that bad for that long?"

"That was purely a hypothetical," Zelda said before she resumed drinking her tea. Her eyes then flicked to the door, "It seems you have a guest."

Peach turned to see Bowser standing in the hall outside looking at them. "Oh no," she said, looking quickly away, "This is always so awkward," she hissed.

The King of the Koopas snorted as he nodded his head then walked over to the two princesses. The dishes began to rattle was he grew closer and they prudently picked up their cups. He stopped a few feet from their table, but said nothing.

Peach nervously brushed a lock of hair behind her ear, "Oh, uh, hello Bowser. What brings you here?" she asked, as if she didn't already know.

He stood, hulking over them, silently staring at them. The princesses looked back at him, Zelda noticing that he seemed to be breathing a bit deeper than was normal for him. Peach, however, couldn't keep her eyes from flicking nervously to the heart shaped valentine card in his claws.

Then he suddenly turned his gaze from Peach to Zelda and thrust the card towards her.

"Oh!" Zelda said, sitting up straight and eyes widening in surprise. She stared at the card, her mouth uncharacteristically hanging open, for a moment before she pulled herself together. "Why...Thank you," she said, taking the card, "I shall consider your...affections."

He stood still for a moment before grunting, giving a, very slight, bow, then turning and walking out. Peach watched him go with a look of shock and horror.

Zelda seemed to find something on the other side of the room very interesting as she attempted to discretely slide the valentine under her placemat, where she had put the other two she'd received while having tea with Peach.

This was a futile effort as Peach had had her eyes glued to the card ever since Bowser had left. "I...I can't believe he gave you a card..."

The words, "and not me" were left unspoken.

"Well," Zelda began, as she straightened her place setting, "You have rejected his overtures for years. It was only a matter of time before he decided continuing to pursue you was fruitless."

"Well, let me tell you, if he thinks, after this, that I am going to go quietly the next time he comes to kidnap m-" her eyes suddenly went wide with realization, "What if he never tries to kidnap me again?" All the color started to drain from her face, "Our... our entire economy...is based on his attempts to kidnap and make me his bride..."

"Don't worry," Zelda said, reaching out and patting Peach's hand, "If we marry I'll be sure to keep the war going."

Peach let out a sigh of relief and smiled at her fellow Princess, "Thank you. You're such a good friend." Then she sat ramrod straight and blinked as the absurdity of what they'd just said hit her.

Zelda hid her smile behind her cup of tea as she pointedly looked anywhere but at Peach.

"Princesses, a moment of your time," Ike broke the silence as he approached.

"Oh, hello Ike!" Peach said, eager for a subject change.

"I had something I wanted to give you," he said to Peach before presenting her with a white card with a red heart on it.

Peach was speechless. She'd had no idea Ike had any interest in her. He certainly hadn't shown any in the previous years. She looked from the card up at him and smiled, "Oh, well thank you," she said, trying to keep the sheer joy and relief out of her voice. She let her eyes flick up and down him again as she took the card from him. Ike had certainly filled out in the years since he'd first come to The Cross Roads, and while big and muscly wasn't exactly her type, she had to admit that she could do far worse than Ike as far as looks went.

That is, if her current Beau decided he didn't want her any more.

"And for you as well," Ike said.

Peach's eyes snapped up to see him handing an identical card to Zelda. "Thank you...Sir Ike," she said, taking the card without looking at him and a slight blush on her cheeks. Though Peach knew the blush wasn't because of any feelings she had towards Ike, but because this was now the fourth card that had been handed to her today. And those were just the ones that had been given to her in front of her! "Don't you think it rude though," Zelda continued, "To give these to us in front of each other?"

"I don't see why it would be," Ike said, "If one of you is interested and the other isn't, what problem is there? And if you're both interested, well, I'm open to the possibilities."

Peach noticed Zelda's fist clench and small sparks start to leap from her hand as she fought the urge to magically taze him in the face.

"Now, I need to find Rosalina," and with a swirl of his cape he strode off.

Peach seemed calm, as she watched Ike leave, but then her tea cup shattered in her hands.

Across the mansion, Rosalina sneezed. Then she sneezed again. And again. "I'm sorry," she said, trying to speak between sneezes, "My allergies are," she sneezed, "Acting up again," sneeze, "I'm so so-ACHOO! Sorry." She bowed slightly as she left the rec room, hand covering her nose and not trusting herself to speak further.

Fox watched her leave with a flat expression, while the Duck Hunt dog found it hilarious. Of course, he found many things hilarious.

After a moment Samus said, "So are we watching this movie or what?"

"Jiggly puff puff!" said Jigglypuff, which, roughly translated to "Yeah, c'mon guys!"

"Pikaaaaaa," Pikachu said, which in this case meant, "Why'd you stop?"

"Sorry," Samus said, and resumed scratching him behind the ears as he rested on her lap

"Chuuu," Pikachu sighed happily.

"You guys haven't started yet?" Captain Falcon said as he came in with an exceptionally large bowl of popcorn, "I've seen this before you know, you didn't have to wait." He set the bowl down on the coffee table then dropped onto the couch, "Hey, where'd Rosalina go?"

"She had an allergy attack," Fox said dryly.

"Oh."

Samus leaned over and grabbed a heaping handful of popcorn, putting a few pieces in her mouth, and letting Pikachu pick a few pieces out of her hand, while Fox played with the video settings.

"C'mon! Show me the movie!"

Samus rolled her eyes while Falcon grinned. "Hit play already," she said.

As the intro to Guardians of The Galaxy started, Falcon said, "Ya know, I wish they'd get us some movies from our own universes. I keep feeling like they're making references and I'm not getting them."

"Watching a movie from a universe that actually knows something about science would be nice too," Samus added.

Ike stepped into the doorway and asked, "Have any of you seen Rosalina?"

"She left a few minutes ago," Samus said.

"Ah," Ike said, "Anyway, I have a valentine for you," he said, walking over and presenting it to Samus over the back of the couch.

She looked at it for a moment before taking it without a word and then holding it out in front of Pikachu, "You know what to do."

"Ka!" Pickchu said, which in this case was simply an exclamation of excitement, before sparks shot out from his cheeks, setting the paper on fire. Samus held it for a few seconds, making it sure it was well and truly aflame, before tossing it onto the table where it quickly burned.

Ike watched with little emotion showing before saying, "That hardly seemed necessary."

"I disagree," Samus said with a grin before popping a handful of popcorn into her mouth.

"Shut it. The good parts are starting," Fox said.

Ike, "Hmphed", then turned and left.

Jigglypuff, who has been watching Ike with wide eyes deflated at his departure, literally, but then puffed herself back up and ran out the door as well.

"Huh... Where's she going?" Falcon asked.

"Shut. Up." Fox growled.

"Aw, yer just mad cause we know you think Rocket is cute."

Fox's lip curled into a snarl and he reached down and activated his reflector.

"AAH!"

"pi-KA!"

"Fuck!"

Samus, Pikachu, and Falcon yelled as they were flung one into the other and tumbled over the side of the couch.

The Duck Hunt Dog was rolling with laughter. The Duck joined in this time.

Out in the halls of the mansion, a confused Lucina nearly tripped over Jigglypuff.

"Oh! I'm sorry!" she said as she hopped out of the way, "Are you okay?"

"Jiggy!" Jigglypuff replied, then looked around, "Puff puff Jiggy?" she asked, which meant, "Have you seen Ike?"

Unfortunately, Lucina hadn't been in The Crossroads long enough to learn the nuances of Pokemon language, "Uh... I'm sorry, I didn't understand that."

Jiggly puff said, "Jigglypuff, puff puff Jiggy!" which meant, "I said, have you seen Ike?"

But Lucina wasn't able to understand her any better this time, even though she had spoken slower. All she could do was smile awkwardly and shrug her shoulders.

Jigglypuff huffed and struck a pose as similar to Ike's favorite victory pose as possible without a sword.

"Oh! Ike! You're looking for Ike?"

"Jiggy!"

"I'm sorry I haven't seen him."

Jigglypuff dropped her arms to her sides and turned her eyes to the ceiling, "Puuuuuuuuuuuuuffffff", which... well, I'm sure you can figure that one out on your own, before running down another of the halls.

Lucina watched her go, feeling bad for wasting her time and wishing there was some way she could help. Well, if she ran into Ike, she could tell him Jigglypuff was looking for him at least.

She sighed and looked back at the cards in her hand. One was from Shulk, the other...she didn't know. It had been left on her nightstand and was unsigned. It was a beautiful card though, she'd love to know who made it. But how was she supposed to find out who had left it?

She turned and headed up the stairs to her Mother's room.

Her Mother, being a brilliant tactician, was sure to be able to find a way for her to identify her mystery suitor without looking like a fool.

When she reached her door, Lucina reached up and knocked, saying, "Mom? I need to ask you someth-

There were naked people on her parents bed.

They were her parents.

Her parents were- "AUGH!"

"Lucina!"

"I'm so sorry!" she slammed the door and fled down the hall.

She didn't stop running until she was forced to by bursting onto a balcony and colliding with the railing almost hard enough to send her toppling over. She caught herself though, but so did someone else.

"Whoa there," a woman's voice said as she reached out and grabbed hold of Lucina's arm. "What's got you so scared you tried to fly without wings?"

Lucina snapped out of her trauma induced panic and turned to see Palutena looking at her with concern. "Oh Lady Palutena!" she said and threw herself into the Goddess arms, "I just- I was looking for Mother and...and...it was horrible."

Palutena blinked as she looked down at the girl, then softly patted her on the back of her head as she rested it on her chest. Palutena decided against bringing up whatever had scared the girl unless the trauma didn't pass quickly. "So why were you looking for your Mother?"

Lucina sniffed and said, "Oh, I wanted her help..."

"With?"

Lucina pulled away and blinked out over the gardens, then shook her head and said, "Oh, it's nothing. I just, well, I got a Valentine from someone, but they didn't sign their name."

"Ooo!" Palutena said with a little clap of her hands, "A secret admirer, how adorable!"

"But why keep it a secret? How am I supposed to accept if I don't know who it is?" she asked and slumped onto the railing.

"Well," Palutena said, placing a hand between Lucina's shoulder blades and rubbing gently, "It could be someone that didn't expect you to accept, but wanted to express their feelings anyway."

Lucina's brow furrowed as she considered this, then she suddenly recoiled as if the scent of something vile had reached her nose, "You don't think it was Wario do you?"

"What?! No! Oh my no. No. Wario would never. I'm pretty sure his one and only love is money."

"Then who?"

Palutena looked to the sky and tapped her chin with one finger, "Who indeed... Perhaps Ganondorf?"

"WHAT!?" Lucina backed up, horror plain on her face.

"Well, he does have a thing for Princesses," she giggled.

"No. Never," Lucina said, shaking her head adamantly.

"And that's why he'd never let you know it was from him," she giggled. "It could also be from someone who's just shy. One of the villagers, perhaps? Or one of those strange Miis?"

"Do they even come into the mansion though?," Lucina asked thoughfully, "I don't think I've ever seen them outside of battle."

"I'm not sure myself, but I suppose anything is possible," Palutena answered, then her eyebrows shot up, "Oh!" and she smacked her fist into the palm of her hand, "The Koopa kids!"

Lucina stumbled back, raising an arm as if to ward off a blow, "That's even WORSE!"

Palutena giggled behind her hand, "Don't worry, I'm sure it's none of those."

"How can you be so sure?", Lucina asked, crossing her arms.

"I used my powers of divination," she said, assuming her most pious expression.

"If that was the case you'd be able to just tell me who it was without all this guessing," Lucina said without a trace of emotion.

Palutena blushed, "Saw through me that easily, eh? Yeah, my Goddess powers are suppressed while I'm here. Kind of like how Samus has to keep her suit on low power. Don't want anyone accidentally destroying the place."

Lucina could understand a Goddess needing to be...what was the term the other fighters used? Nerfed? But with all the explosions and beams that were already being thrown around the arenas, it seemed ridiculous that Samus would need to have her armor restricted.

Before she could say that, however, one of the Villagers came up with a card and both women paused their conversation to look at him.

It seemed that suddenly being the center of their attention had sapped him of whatever courage it had taken to approach the two women and he promptly found their shoes profoundly interesting.

"Did you want something?" Palutena asked sweetly.

He looked up at her voice and smiled nervously before abruptly thrusting a heart shaped card at her with both hands.

"Oh!" she said, pulling back slightly, "I had no idea!" she crossed her hands over her heart, "It's so overwhelming, so many people giving me their hearts." She then leaned forward to take the proffered valentine, "I'll have to give it a great deal of thought. It wouldn't be right for me break someone's heart on a whim. I'll give you an answer after sunset."

The Villager nodded his head and scurried off, having used up the last of his courage in facing the Goddess.

"So, you actually did it."

He skidded to a stop at the voice and turned to see Jason leaning against the wall and hidden around a corner, staring at him with those unsettling eyes of his. "Yeah?" Billy said.

Jason just looked at him, without saying anything or even changing expression. Then suddenly he smiled and threw an arm around his fellow villager, "Good on you! I was worried you wouldn't have the balls. You always seem like your on the edge of a freakout."

"Oh, uh, thanks," Billy said, brushing his hair back into place.

"Now c'mon, Victoria and Becky wanted our help in the garden."

"Again?"

Jason closed his eyes and shrugged, "What can I say? They developed a taste for landscaping." Then he opened his eyes and grinned, "And when I left to find you it looked like their digging was getting _really_ close to Olimar's garden."

Billy pulled back wide eyed, "The last time that happened-."

"Oh yeah," Jason raising his eyebrows, "Let's hurry up so we don't miss the show."

"AUGH! Get off! Get off get off get off!" Victoria's increasingly shrill cries could be heard from inside the mansion well before Billy and Jason reached the garden exit. Despite the advance warning, the two villagers stopped in their tracks at the sight of Victoria rolling across the ground, covered in Pikmin, "Call them off you bobbleheaded freak!"

Olimar, however, seemed inclined to do nothing of the sort. Indeed, he was directing more Pikmin at Becky, who was making a valiant effort to fend them off with a shovel. She was overwhelmed seconds later.

One of the Pikmin pulled the flower from Victoria's hair and leapt to the ground and stood holding it out with it's tiny arms until the other Pikmin turned her head to look it. Then it ripped the flower in half.

Victoria froze, she didn't so much as blink, then her face instantly changed into a ferocious snarl, "THAT'S IT!" She leapt to her feet, scattering Pikmin, a few crying out as their souls left their bodies, and pulled out her ax, "I'm turning you all into MULCH!". She hefted her ax, and made a broad downward sweep that cut a large swath through the attacking vegetable creatures. Or at least it would have, if the ax had been involved.

Her war face quickly changed into a look of confusion, before her attention was caught by her ax drifting by, carried gracefully through the air by a trio of pink winged Pikmin. He confusion quickly turned back to rage and she snarled, "Give that BACK!" She made to dash after them and take it back by force, but stopped before taking more than a step.

Olimar had the ax, leaning against it, daring her to take it back, while flanked by two large purple Pikmin. And row upon row of blue, yellow, red, and white Pikmin fanned out to his sides. An invitation to attack, and a promise of much pain and suffering if she did.

"Fine! Keep it!" she spat, then turned and walked away.

Jason looked on in a detached sort of way, "He's getting better."

Billy nodded and said, "I saw him comparing notes with the Robins."

Becky limped over, "Thanks for the help guys."

"Like we'd get involved in a fight with Olimar when he has a full army at his command. You need to learn to just stay the hell away from his garden."

"It's not his garden!" she cried, stamping her foot, "He doesn't need all that space! If he can take over so much for his Pikmin then we can landscape the rest of it."

"I think Master Hand might disagree with you on just what qualifies as Olimar's. He needs to have a large number of Pikmin at all times," Jason said with a shake of his head.

Becky looked like she was going to say something, but Billy interjected, "Just try to keep your projects at least ten feet away from his Pikmin? You know what happened last time."

"Yeah yeah," she said before looking herself over and sighing, "I'm going to go get cleaned up."

She walked back into the mansion and headed down to the locker rooms. It was much closer than her own semi-private quarters, even if it was public shower. Well, girl public. The boys had their own.

"Oh man, what happened to you?"

And then there were the "hot springs" that a certain angel had petitioned Master to add. It took a bit of convincing, but he did eventually convince a large majority of the other residents how much better they would be than the, comparatively tiny, hot tubs they'd had before.

Becky turned to Pit who was pushing himself up into a sitting position at the far side, fully clothed as usual("That way you don't have to wash them!"), and he seemed to get his answer just from her look.

"Got into it with Olimar again, huh? Not sure why you don't give him more space. He's scary when he has more than five of those little guys with him, but seeing him with a whole army was enough to give even Lady Palutena nightmares. She never did explain just why she was so scared of him though." Those last words seemed to be to himself as he now looked to be in deep thought.

She continued on to the girls side of the locker room, passing Little Mac and Ms. Fit, who were talking to Jigglypuff about something.

"I think I had it that time, could you speak just a little slower?"

Jigglypuff blew out a long sigh then said, yet again, "Puff puff Jiggy?"

"'Have you seen...' Ugh. I just can't figure out the name!" Mac said.

"One more time, please?" Wii said.

Jigglypuff was getting extremely frustrated by all these newcomers not being able to understand her, but she refused to resort to miming this out again. She crossed her arms and huffed, "Jiggy."

"Oh, Ike!" Mac and Wii said in unison.

Jigglypuff rolled her eyes in exasperation and leaned backwards so far she came off her feet and rolled all the way over back on to her feet, "Puuuuuuuuuuuffffff."

"Well, I saw him talking to Rosalina outside the training room."

Jigglypuff immediately perked up, said "Jiggy puff!" and ran off.

"So, big man, ready to hit the Hot Spri- Oh, hi Pit."

Back in the mansion, Jigglypuff was stopped by Viridi, "Oh, Jigglypuff! Maybe you could help me."

She skidded to a halt, looking down the hall towrds where she hoped to find Ike, then back to Viridi and stopped and sighed, "Puu?"

Viridi, being the Goddess of Nature(Well, A Goddess of Nature), had no problems understanding the Pokemon, and said, "Don't worry, this will only take a moment. Have you seen Link? I'm sure he's looking for me so he can give me a Valentine," finishing with her hands on her hips and her chin up proudly.

Jigglypuff leaned back and bit and looked at the diminutive Goddess out of the corner of her eyes, "Jiggy pu-puff iggly." Which translated, roughly, to, "Link is suuuuper taken."

"Ha! Well I've never been an option until now! But now that I'm on the field, of COURSE he'd want a chance with me? I mean, look at this hair, this flawless skin! And of course I'm a Goddess. You can't get better than THAT, now can you you?"

Jigglypuff didn't respond to her, instead just continuing to stare at her.

"So, uh..." Viridi said, letting her hands fall from her hips, "Have you seen him around?"

Jigglypuff shook her head.

"Ugh! And the day is almost over." Her shoulders drooped as she started to walk off, "Oh well. Thanks for your help."

Jigglypuff turned and ran off without another word.

Viridi didn't know what she was going to do. By all rights she should have had suiters lining up out the door, her only real competition being Palutena, but not a single person had offered her a Valentine. She didn't understand it at all. Maybe she'd ask Phosphora if she'd received any. While only a minor one, she was still a Goddess after all.

In her hunt she passed through the Old Kitchen, a remnant from when the residents were few enough that they could cook for themselves, and saw Marth talking with Dark Pit at the counter. Dark Pit noticed her first and stopped leaning against it, "Hello Viridi."

"Hey Dark Pit." She said and stopped against the other side of the island, "Have you seen Link?"

"Uh, no, I haven't. But I've been looking for you."

"Oh?" She said, perking up, just a little.

Yeah," he said, walking over to her and pulling a card from his belt, "Will you be my Valentine?"

He held the card out to her at arm's length with a stoic expression, but if you paid close attention you'd notice a blush slowly forming on his face.

Viridi watched this with a blank expression, then blinked as if suddenly seeing him. "Oh! Well, I don't know. You are a servant of mine after all, it wouldn't be right," she said. Then added, but, you're more of free agent than an actual servant so I guess I can at least consider you," and took the card. "I'll let you know after I give it some thought. I have _so many_ suiters after all," she laughed, fanning herself with the card.

"Of course. I'll await your answer," he said and walked back to where Marth was watching.

Once Viridi had left, Marth said, "You know, I have reliable sources that say she hasn't received a single card from anyone else," as he sipped his tea.

Dark Pit smirked, "I know," and drank his coffee.

"-can make us a snack, or maybe a light dinner," came Palutena's voice from down the hall.

"Oh no, I couldn't. It wouldn't feel right. You're a Goddess!" Lucina replied as they entered the kitchen.

"Oh pish posh. Here I'm just another one of the gang," Palutena countered as she opened the fridge and started looking through it's contents.

"We should leave," Dark Pit said, standing up abruptly and nearly knocking over his mug.

"What? Why?" Marth asked.

"Trust me. You don't want to be around when Palutena cooks."

Palutena stood up and whirled around, bristling, "That was ONE TIME Pittoo!"

"I told you not to call me that! And it's better to be safe than sorry," and he dragged Marth away, almost before he could put his tea down.

"What... What was that about?" Lucina asked, nervous and embarrassed after seeing her ancestor dragged away.

"It's...nothing. There was an accident, once, when I was preparing dinner for Pit and I. It just... cascaded into disaster. But don't worry, I haven't used and rejuvinator since."

"Oh... okay," Lucina said, not sure what Palutena was talking about, and slid onto a stool at the counter.

"Change of topic," Palutena said, still bent over and examining the contents of the refrigerator's bottom shelves, "Aside from the mystery Valentine, have you considered the others?"

"Well, Shulk is nice," she said, grateful for the subject change, "But..."

"But?" Palutena pushed, setting some food on the counter.

"I don't know. He's..." she sighed, "He's just not my type."

"Oh. Well, what about Robin?"

"He's a male version of my _Mother_. He's nice but the idea of a romance with him is just TOO weird."

"Oh, right. Odd how these alternate universes work, isn't it? Though, I suppose that's not as strange as Link and 'Toon' Link."

"Maybe from someone else's perspective."

Palutena hum'd then said, "True. Your situation is unique in that regard. What about... oh, the pokemon trainer? I didn't get his name."

"He just goes by 'Red'. I'm not sure if that's his actual name or not. And I like him. We've had a number of conversations about training pokemon. It's very facinating. Did you know that he used to participate actively in the battles? He would stand on the side issuing commands to one of three pokemon. Only Charizard wanted to continue though, so he stays off the field now since he doesn't switch them mid battle anymore."

"Sounds like you have a connection. Will you be accepting his proposal then?"

Lucina looked back at the newest addition to her collection of Valentines and her shoulders slumped, "I don't know. He's nice and I like spending time with him but..."

"Just not your type?"

"No," she said, slumping onto the counter and dropping her head onto her arms. "I just wish I knew who left me the unsigned one."

"Do you think it makes that much of a difference?" Palutena asked as she chopped some vegtables, "It could turn out to be as much of a disappointment as the others. Morso, even, since you've put so much hope into it. Who do you want it to be from?"

She set the other cards aside and looked at the one in questions, her chin resting on the counter, "I don't know. There's just something about it. The handwriting, the design... It just seems special to me."

"So, would you rather know who gave it to you and risk being let down, or let it stay a mystery and the fantasy remain?"

Lucina stared at the card in silence, before finally saying, "I want to know."

Setting down the knife, Palutena walked over to her. She reached out and took the card from Lucina and set it on the counter beside them, then took her hand in her own, "What is I told you, that the card was from me." Lucina's eyes went wide with shock. "That I'm the one who left the card on your bedside table, where it would be the first thing you saw when you woke."

Lucina stared at her in shock, her mouth slowly falling open.

"So," Palutena said, "Should I turn this snack into a romantic dinner for two?"

Lucina's mouth started moving before it had words to speak, and the first sounds to come out of it weren't words at all, "Ah...buh...I..."

"It's alright," Palutena said with a smile, "I won't hold it against you if I'm not your type."

Without any sign of a response, Palutena let go of Lucina's hand, "Well, I'll just finish this chicken salad and we can eat."

It was after another minute of chopping and when Palutena was putting all the ingredients into a bowl that Lucina spoke, "Why me?"

Palutena stopped and looked over, "Why you'?"

"Why did you give me a Valentine? Why do you want to...have...that kind of relationship with me."

She smiled at Lucina before answering, "Well, because you're adorable."

"I'm...adorable?" she asked, blushing despite her questioning tone.

"Completely," Palutena said with a closed eyed smile. "Everything from the way you look and act, how you speak and the sound of your voice, and just you being you makes me want squeeze you. Hold you as tight as I can and never let go."

After Palutena finished speaking, Lucina's expression was unreadable. She seemed to be staring into space. It was almost as if her brain couldn't comprehend what it had been told and had shut down.

"Are you okay?"

Lucina let out a high pitched and strained giggle. "A Goddess thinks I'm adorable and wants to cuddle me. How could I not be fine?"

Palutena bit her lip, not sure if she should take her words at face value.

"So," Lucina said, wiping a tear from her eye and with a smile on her face, "Is it too late to make that into a romantic dinner for two?"

Palutena gave her another closed eye smile and clasped her hands excitedly, "Absolutely! Just give me a few more minutes."

Samus, with Pikachu on her shoulder and her hand firmly over his mouth, quietly moved back down the hall.

Once she felt she was far enough away, she took her hand away. Pikachu immediately shook his head, "Kaa!"

"Oh shush. I didn't want to disturb them."

"Pika. Chu."

"Oh don't worry about the snacks. Just give them a few moments to settle and we can go back in."

Suddenly a glowing blue fairy flitted into the hallway. It bobbed back and forth for a moment before, seemingly, spotting them. With an excited shiver it zipped down the hall and swirled around Samus before flittering off again and stopping a few feet away.

A smile slowly forming on her face, she said, "I think you're gooing to have finish the snack run on your own," and dropped her shoulder down to let Pikachu know that the ride was over.

He dropped off and asked "Pikachu?"

"No, I don't think I'll be coming back to the movie," and with that she started walking towards the fairy.

Once she was within arms reach, the fairy darted off and Samus followed it. It lead her down the hall and then another, before taking her out through a rarely used side door into the Outside. The Outside was not much different from the Garden in appearance, though it had more trees and no surrounding wall. What truly set the Outside apart was that things tended to get... nebulous, if you went too far out. Some said that if you kept walking you'd fall "off"(or "through", depending on who you talked to, as if the ground simply lost it's substance). Other's said that you'd just come back to the Mansion, but from the other side.

Regardless of it's nature, it was beautiful in a surreal and dreamlike way, and it was a great place to go if you wanted to be sure of some quality alone time.

The fairy lead off to where the trees were fewer and the hills were greater. Atop one of the hills was a single tree, and under the tree there was a man standing beside a table with two chairs, one of which was pulled away.

With their destination in sight, the fair zoomed up the hill and swirled happily around the man, who said something to it and then it seemingly disappeared. Whether it had simply flown off into the forest or hidden itself in her his hat, Samus didn't know and didn't care. Link was the only one who could talk to the fairies, or perhaps he was the only one the fairies talked to. Either way, gossip and secrets were not spread through the little winged balls of light.

At least not to non-fairies.

Reaching the top of the hill, she saw that the table was set for two, with unlit candles and three covered dishes. A smile formed on her lips as she closed her eyes and shook her head then took the last few steps to the to the table, "You're such a romantic."

Link grinned widely as Samus brought her hand to the back of his head and pulled him in for a deep kiss. A kiss that went on for several moments. When they finally broke apart, Link gestured for her to sit and then pushed her in to the table.

She took her napkin and set it in her lap as Link sat down. "You sure know how to pick a view," she said as she looked off at the sun setting over the Mansion.

They weren't the only ones enjoying the sunset though. On one of the balconies, Bowser stood looking out over the garden as the sun dropped below the horizon. And someone stood watching him from the doorway. If he knew she was there, he didn't say anything.

For several moments she was content to stand and watch in silence. Eventually though, it had to come to an end, "I've been considering your proposal."

Bowser turned, not seeming startled in the least, to face the Princess of Hyrule, "And?"

She titled her a fraction to the side, regarding him carefully, "I wish to know why you made it. You've seemed set on Princess Peach for years. Why change your sights now, and why change them to me."

The Koopa King growled, or perhaps it was a sigh. "It's been going on for too long. Our conflicts benefit us both, but they benefit her more. She's never going to end them by joining out Kingdoms through marriage. And I need a Queen," he said then turned to look back over the garden.

Zelda walked over to the railing and looked out over it, "If that is the case, then I think I can consent to being courted by you. Whether it goes any further than that remains to be seen of course."

Bowser snorted, "Of course. And I can assure you I'll be giving it my best efforts." Then he leaned on the railing, "After all, someone needs to help me raise these kids."

Zelda smirked as she looked down at the kooopa kids, tearing around the garden after each other in a very violent and completely disorganized, but highly enthusiastic, game of tag. "I might be able to do that."

* * *

 _ **Mako's Message:** This is something I started writing a little over a year ago. But, Valentine's Day came and went I wasn't anywhere near finished, so I set it aside and pecked at it here and there since. When Valentine's Day came around again, I decided to try and get it finished. Still a wee bit late, but, eh, fuck it. I'm happy to have it out of my hair, or off my back. Whichever. Anyway, this got a bit more serious at times, and some characters took up more of the spotlight than intended, but this was intended to be, and still is, just some fluff and silliness. So I hope you enjoyed it as such._

 _I feel like I'm forgetting something though... Oh. Right..._

* * *

As the sun finished setting, but just before night had truly fallen, Ike was sitting under a tree, nursing a black eye. "You'd think, with all the people thinking she's a guy, she'd appreciate getting a Valentine," he muttered to himself.

"Jiggy!"

He looked up to see Jigglypuff running towards him with a huge smile on her face. "Wha-"

"Jigglypuff!" she cried and threw herself into his arms, hugging him tight.

"Oh, hey."

"Puff puff!"

"You've been looking for me?"

"Jiggy!"

"Hmm," he said, leaning back against the tree and rubbing the top of her head, "I'm happy to see you too."


End file.
